Better The Devil You Know
by AceOfHearts444
Summary: Set post-movie. Andy realises she made a mistake when she walked away from Miranda, now all she needs is a second chance to make things right. This is my version of how Miranda and Andy get together. Mirandy, though some Nate/Andy and references to Stephen/Miranda.
1. Chapter 1

**_Author's Note: _**_My most recent obsession and OTP of all OTP's is Mirandy (Miranda Priestly/Andrea Sachs from The Devil Wears Prada). I've only watched the movie, haven't read the book so all characters in this fanfiction are based off the movie. I recently came to know about this pairing's large following on tumblr and so I rewatched the movie. And oh my god, how could I not have seen this before? All that sexual tension and the movie so blatantly hints at this pairing. In my eyes it's canon _:)

_Also, just a warning to some readers; this fanfiction is definately M for mature and there will be sex scenes, language and adult themes. _

**Disclaimer: **I don't own The Devil Wears Prada, nor any of its characters.

**Chapter One**

Andy sighed as she slumped against her apartment door, fishing around in her bag for her keys. After a few minutes of unsuccessful searching, she huffed in annoyance. She could barely stand, and all she wanted to do was throw herself down on her couch and not move for a few hours. Why did her keys choose this moment to be so damn hard to find?

To say her day had been difficult would be an understatement. It was currently nearing nine o'clock, and she'd only left work half an hour ago. She had only been in her new job three months now, which meant it had been almost six months since Paris.

She had never minded staying back late at Runway, she had accepted that it was just part of her job. However in this new job she found herself working with incompetent and downright lazy co-workers. Staying back late had become routine for all the wrong reasons.

Her new boss was nice, but far too forgiving with the indiscretions of his staff. Miranda would never tolerate the presence of half of her co-workers, she thought, chuckling softly to herself as she imagined them all being reprimanded.

Andy shook her head, frowning, though she had finally found her keys and was now jiggling them into the rusted keyhole of her apartment door.

Miranda had been on Andy's mind more than she would have liked. Indeed, she had been on her mind constantly since Paris. She remembered defiantly turning on her heel and walking away from Miranda, remembered throwing her phone in the fountain when she saw the caller ID. She remembered thinking that she was doing the right thing for herself.

She remembered that feeling that disguised itself as pride, when in fact its true identity was selfishness. And Andy knew how unlike her it was to be selfish.

She knew the truth that burned in her heart. She had abandoned Miranda. She had abandoned someone that she loved more than anything else in the whole world. All for the sake of some failed self preservation.

Andy swallowed hard as she fought back tears, sighing.

No, she wouldn't think about it. Not now.

She swung the door open and dumped her bag on the table. Making her way into the living room, she was surprised when she saw Nate asleep on the couch. His face was peaceful, and there were three empty beer bottles lined up on the table. He must have finished work early, she thought. He wasn't due home for another hour.

She pulled her cerulean blue sweater off and over her head, folding it neatly and placing it on the coffee table next to the empty beer bottles.

The same cerulean blue sweater that Miranda had criticized her for on her first day at Runway.

She had taken a liking to it recently and was wearing it more often. She laughed softly at the memory. At least she could now look back and find humour in what had transpired.

Sitting down next to where Nate was slumped, she noticed him stir. She reached out a hand to gently run a finger over his stubbled cheek, leaning in and giving him a quick kiss. He opened his eyes, yawning and giving her a lazy grin.

"Hey baby," he stretched out his arm, and she moved in to rest her head on his shoulder. She could smell the alcohol on his breath. She wondered if he'd had more than three beers, thinking that maybe his day had been as tough as hers. "Sorry I fell asleep, I was waiting for you to get home. Must've just dozed off.'

"How long have you been home? I didn't think your shift finished til ten?"

"Yeah, it was supposed to finish then, but I kinda walked out during service." He gave her a sheepish grin as she raised her eyebrow. "Had a fight with my manager again. The bastard wasn't gonna let me take my break, even though he had plenty of staff to cover for me. He just has it in for me, I guess."

"Again?" Andy sighed, "What a jerk! He treats you like crap, Nate! You should do something about him!"

"Like what?" Nate asked, jokingly. Andy kissed him on the cheek again, and he welcomed the affection. He sighed before continuing, "He's my boss. You know what managers can be like, you worked for the dragon lady herself. You took months of abuse from that woman, and the only way you could get away from that bitch was to quit."

Andy winced noticeably at him using the word 'bitch' to describe Miranda. It caused an odd feeling in her chest, akin to heartache.

"Don't call her that, Nate." Her tone of voice was soft, and sympathetic, and he recoiled, pulling his arm from behind her shoulders.

He shook his head, giving her a disbelieving look. "And you still defend her, after what she did to you?"

His soft voice hid anger that was dripping behind each word, but he would be too tired to argue.

Andy crossed her arms and sighed, giving in. "I'm sorry."

Nate shook his head, "No, don't be. I just... I can't do what you did, Andy. I can't walk away from this job. You're earning half as much money now as you did at Runway and if I quit now we won't be able to pay rent." He shrugged, "I'll just put up with him. I can handle it."

Andy smiled weakly, kissing him on the shoulder. Truth be told, she was still annoyed at him for what he'd said about Miranda. And his mention of Runway had set her mind back into thinking mode again. Still, she had to be supportive. "I know you can."

Nate smirked and dipped his head to catch her lips. His kisses started soft, but his mouth soon became hard and unrelenting as his tongue danced with hers. After a few minutes he was breathing heavier, and when they parted Andy could feel her lips and chin wet with saliva. He had always been a sloppy kisser, not that she had minded, really.

He pushed her back against the couch and resumed kissing her. As tired as Andy was, she would give in to this. She knew he had had a rough day and, truth be told, he had probably been looking forward to this all night.

As their tongues once again danced in unison, Andy let her eyes slip closed. And, for whatever reason, her mind begged the question; what would it feel like to kiss Miranda Priestly?

She forced her eyes to shut even tighter, desperately trying to rid her brain of that thought.

Andy had known of her infatuation with her boss after only a few months of working with her at Runway. Yes, she was intimidating, and cold, and constantly felt the need to belittle her staff, but Andy had always known that this was only half the picture. She had seen the softer side of the so-called dragon lady. She had even seen her cry once, on the night that Steven informed Miranda that he was filing for divorce.

She didn't doubt that she wasn't the only assistant to harbour feelings for Miranda. She was sure Emily had a thing for her, even if it was disguised as innocent idol worship. Countless staff would hold their breath as she passed them in the hallways, adjusting their clothes and makeup in an effort to catch her eye.

And oh, it was so worth it to catch a glance from those eyes. The most beautiful shade of piercing blue Andy had ever seen.

She let herself smile at the thought, and at the same time felt herself being lifted from the couch and carried into the bedroom.

In a manner of minutes Nate was undressed and wearing nothing but his boxer shorts, while Andy lay naked beneath him. He started kissing her again, this time moving his lips down her neck and raking his teeth across sensitive skin. Then he bit, a little bit harder than intended, above her collar bone and she whimpered softly.

"Sorry." He whispered, looking down at her.

She shook her head, smiling, "It's okay."

He moved further down, then, and took one of her nipples into his mouth. He sucked a little too hard, but at least he was nice enough to try foreplay. All of the other boyfriends she had been with had never really been into it.

Her thoughts then uncontrollably drifted back to Miranda. She was trying to stop thinking about her, she really was. And of all the awkward times for her to be thinking of the woman, why did it have to be now? She had only ever allowed herself to fantasise about kissing Miranda, or being close to her, or holding her former boss's hand. She had kept those thoughts under control to be fair to Nate, but she was finding it harder and harder not to think of the older woman in a different light.

She wondered what kind of a lover Miranda would be. Strangely, for all her domineering tendencies in the workplace, Andy figured Miranda to be a gentle lover. She closed her eyes and imagined Miranda's tongue swiping over her nipple as soon as Nate made the action with his mouth, and she moaned, her cheeks reddening.

No, she wouldn't think about Miranda. Not now, not like this. She couldn't.

But Andy knew she was quickly losing control of her thoughts.

Snapping her eyes open, Andy looked at Nate with almost pleading eyes, her hands cupping either side of his face.

"Nate, go down on me."

He looked at her quizzically. "Aww, come on Andy, I've never done that before. I don't think I'd know how."

"Please?" She begged, "No one's ever done it to me before, so you'll be fine. You can learn."

It was true, every boyfriend except Nate had just revelled in simple penetrative sex. But though Nate did enjoy foreplay, he had never tried oral. She had always wondered what it would feel like.

She had known she was bisexual since she was sixteen, though what little experimentation she had engaged in with women was always just making out.

"Really?" He asked, kissing between her breasts and giving her a disbelieving look. An amused smile played at his lips.

"I'm not lying!"

"Alright, alright, I believe you. But..." He looked at her guiltily. "Next time, ok? I promise. It's just... I've had a lot of beer and I don't think this will last forever." He pointed down, giving her a wink and a laugh. Andy just rolled her eyes at him, but to mask her annoyance she gave a half-hearted laugh too.

"Oh, fine. Come here, then." She pulled him towards her.

As he entered her, she lay back against the bed and shut her eyes, arms secured around his neck. She did love Nate, though she was worried that the feeling had devolved into something that wasn't at all romantic. The love she felt for him now was more of a friendship kind of love, and a concern for his general wellbeing. Andy felt guilty that when they made love, she was more "giving in" than being a willing participant.

They had loved eachother before their breakup in the lead-up to Paris, but she remembered the added strain that her job had placed on their relationship. Nate had clearly been jealous of Miranda, and part of her wondered if he knew.

Nate grunted and pushed himself even further in with every thrust of her hips. His breathing now ragged, she found it hard to catch her own breath. Her eyes fluttered closed again. She felt guilty for not feeling any sexual attraction for him anymore, even though in her heart of hearts she knew that this was not her fault.

She began moaning, to encourage him, even if she felt no drive herself.

Nate's whimpering and moaning had become desperate by this point, and with one final push he was over the edge, his breath coming out in ragged puffs against her shoulder. She held him for a while before he rolled off her, giving her a small smile before stifling a yawn with the back of his hand. Andy gave him a kiss on the cheek before getting up and pulling on her underwear and an old shirt that she found slung over the back of a chair. She lay back down beside him, facing away. She felt his arm fall lazily over her waist.

Andy would remain awake for a while, and when she could be sure that he was asleep, then and only then would she allow herself to cry over the woman that she missed so dearly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Andy's eyes fluttered open, feeling the weight of Nate's arm still securely around her waist. She could see sunlight peeking through the window. It was morning, thank god. She yawned, gently taking his hand and slipping out from underneath it, being especially careful not to wake him. She then staggered into the bathroom to wash up, taking a moment to examine herself in the mirror.

Her eyes were red, lids puffy and cheeks still tear streaked. She had cried for hours last night, though she was unsure exactly what time sleep had claimed her.

All she knew was that these little episodes of crying over Miranda had become far more frequent lately. Guilt struck her once again as she glanced back at a sleeping Nate. How would he react if he knew?

She decided she didn't want to think about it.

She showered and got dressed before making her way back into the bedroom. The bed was empty, and when she continued into the living room she saw him sitting on the couch, happily sipping his mug of coffee.

"Morning." He said when he saw her enter the room.

"Good morning." She said as she sat down on the couch beside him, stifling a yawn. "Hey, where's mine?" She asked, glancing at the coffee in his hand. The smell of it managed to wake her up a bit.

"Mmh?" He took a long, drawn out sip. "Well you were takin' so long in the shower I figured if I made you one it'd just go cold."

"Oh, you're so considerate." She replied jokingly, nudging his leg with her foot. "I'll make one myself, then."

"I could always take you to a cafe later on. That one down on 8th street?" He suggested.

"I thought you were hanging out with Doug today?" Andy asked.

"Yeah I was but he cancelled. He's got some throat thing, I dunno. Whadaya say?"

Andy had to admit she felt a little like she was plan B in this situation, though she decided not to put that thought into words. It was both their day off, and they rarely got to spend any time together these days. "Sure, that'd be nice."

He then finished off his coffee and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "I'd better go get ready, then."

* * *

Miranda's ice blue eyes glared at the woman before her, as Emily steeled herself for one hell of a lecture. She removed her reading glasses, leaning forward, and in one swift movement slammed the book in front of her shut.

'Oh god, here we bloody go...' Emily thought.

"Are you aware that I called your name _four_ times, Emily? I was ready to send out a search and rescue party to relocate my less than reliable assistant."

"I'm so sorry, Miranda. You see, I-"

An uninterested wave of her hand halted Emily's explanation. Miranda hated explanations, she knew. She didn't even know why she'd tried explaining. She had been held up by a member of staff wanting her help with something clearly unimportant. Emily wished she could come up with a polite way of saying it was difficult to do the job of two people by herself, since Miranda had fired the last three assistants.

It was times like this that she missed Andrea terribly. And, truth be told, she knew that Miranda probably missed her even more. Though if she ever admitted it Emily swore she'd eat her favourite pair of Jimmy Choos. That would be the day.

"Your explanations do not interest me." She said, bringing her gloved hand up to rub at the space between her eyebrows. For a moment that ice blue was hidden behind closed eyes, but within a few seconds their gaze was locked on Emily again. "Send off those emails for me this morning. Tell Nigel the photo shoot has been moved to the 1st of this month. Tell that annoying journalist from that B Grade news program for the thousandth time no, I will not allow him to interview me. And tell him to fix his hair for god's sake it looks like he got stuck in a wind turbine."

It took Emily all her time not to laugh at Miranda's comment, though she knew her boss wasn't even trying to be funny. She jotted down everything she heard, as Miranda continued;

"Also, book me a table for two at that place that I went to last week. Irv wishes to meet me for coffee."

Emily scanned her brain for the information that most of the time Miranda failed to give. She didn't concern herself with trivialities such as names and addresses of places. That was apparently what assistants were for.

Her eyes widened as the light bulb came on in her mind. "That cafe on 8th street?" Miranda narrowed her eyes. Oh god, she'd made that sound like a question hadn't she? If there was one thing Miranda hated even more than explanations, it was questions. "... Is called Olivier's, I'm sure. I just remembered. Table for two. Of course, Miranda."

"For eleven thirty _sharp_. Tell Roy to have the car ready."

"Of course, Miranda."

Emily waited patiently for any further instructions, pen at the ready.

"That's all."

Oh good, she could finally breath normally.

She nodded before dutifully walking out of Miranda's office and back to her desk.

* * *

Andy sighed contently as her and Nate walked down the street together. It was a beautiful day, so they had decided to walk to the cafe. It wasn't a long walk, only about twenty minutes or so.

It was early fall, so leaves littered the sidewalk in shades of gold, orange and brown. It was beautiful to look at, even if locals complained that the leaves had a tendency to block the drains and guttering.

Leaves were kicked up with every step her and Nate took, and he reached over and locked their fingers together. She gave him a small smile as they continued, mostly in silence. The cool wind did chill her face a little when it picked up, and she was thankful she had worn her trusty cerulean jumper to keep out the cold. She also wore old washed out jeans and sneakers that were a little dirty. She had abandoned high fashion after leaving Runway, though she had to admit she did miss it at times, all that high society glitz and glamour.

She looked down, critiquing her own choice of clothing much like her old boss would. Miranda would kill her if she saw what she was wearing. Andy allowed herself to laugh at the thought, even if the laughter masked a hint of sadness.

Nate gave her a funny look and she simply smiled apologetically, wrapping an arm around his waist.

Around five minutes later they had arrived at the cafe. After entering Nate took off his scarf and Andy took it from him, folding it and placing it in her handbag.

Andy breathed in the aroma of coffee and sighed pleasantly, smiling. She had always loved the smell of it.

They were seated in the middle of the busy cafe', and she recognised the place from the interior.

"Hey, I've been here before, Nate. I didn't realize til now."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow, handing her one of the menus that he had just been given by the waitress.

"Yeah, I came here for a lunch meeting when I worked at Runway." She smiled at the memory, "It was nice. Except for the company, that is. You know, a bunch of wealthy fashion snobs as you call them. Miranda said she only talked to them because she had to. You know, she-" She stopped herself, however, when she noticed Nate giving her an annoyed look.

Apparently she couldn't even mention the woman's name without him getting irritated.

"God, Nate, why do you do that?" She folded her arms, eyes darting to meet with his.

"What?" He was clearly trying to play dumb. "Do what?"

"Get all irritated when I mention Miranda's name?" He noticeably recoiled again. "See?"

She resisted saying her name another ten times, just to annoy him.

"Look, Andy, I-" He started, raising his hands up in front of himself defensively. "Hey, she worked you into the ground, nearly sent you into a nervous breakdown, tried to change you into a fashion slave and then caused a breakup between us. So forgive me if hearing the woman's name makes me cringe."

"She didn't cause our breakup, Nate."

"Oh yeah? Well-"

"Nate, ssh. We're out in public. Fine. I'm sorry, ok? Just don't make a scene. I promise I won't mention _her _name ever again."

"Ok." He replied, leaning back in his chair. "Deal. Now let's order coffee and something to eat. I'm starving."

Andy nodded. They ordered, and the waitress brought them their coffee within a few minutes. While they waited for their food, her and Nate both chatted for a few minutes, making general small talk back and forth across the table. She noticed that Nate kept glancing across the room from them, and gave him a confused look from over the rim of her coffee cup. "What's wrong?"

He gave a small nod of his head in the direction that he was looking. "That woman over there, she keeps looking over at you. Do you know her? She's sitting with that middle aged guy, look."

Setting her mug down, Andy turned her head then, and if she wasn't sitting at the table she swore she would have fallen over from shock. As it was she felt the need to grip the edge of the table for support, her eyes widening.

As blue eyes locked with her brown, her heart skipped a beat and she immediately felt her cheeks grow hot. There she was, only about twenty metres away, staring at her. Her facial expression, to anyone else, would have looked expressionless. Though there was something there, behind those eyes, that Andy couldn't quite put her finger on.

She swallowed, her mouth suddenly feeling very dry.

"Miranda...? That's... It's... Her."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **Wow! Thank you so much for the reviews guys! :D Hope you're having as much fun reading this as I am writing it. Here's chapter three. Sorry about the delay, will hopefully be updating this a lot more over the next few days. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own The Devil Wears Prada or any of its characters.

**Chapter Three**

"What?!" Nate exclaimed as he stared, wide-eyed, at Andy. He couldn't believe it. "You mean that's _her_?"

His voice come out louder than he intended. She swore Miranda must have heard him.

Andy then managed to snap her eyes away from Miranda's and back to Nate's, as difficult as that was. Apparently, even after all this time of not seeing her, Miranda still possessed more than enough personal magnetism to hold her gaze.

Which was not all that surprising, Andy thought. The woman had enough personal magnetism to keep the Earth spinning.

Her heart beating wildly in her chest, she grabbed his hand with both of her own and squeezed tightly, more for support than anything else.

"Sssh! Nate, keep your voice down!" She whispered, her eyes pleading.

"Oh, great."He leaned back in his chair, casting another glance in the direction of the older woman.

"Great." He repeated.

Andy allowed her eyes to wander back to Miranda again, and was disappointed to find that she had turned her attention back to Irv. Her heart ached with every beat in her chest.

She longed to speak to Miranda, but what would she say? She was clearly out of the office on business. It was Irv she was talking to, after all, so she knew that interrupting them was a no-go.

Besides, what would she say? Hello, remember me, the person who just decided to walk out of your life one day without saying a word?

Andy swallowed hard. Miranda was just so _close_. The very thought made her shiver; she was both excited and terrified at the same time. It was electrifying.

"Who's the guy with her?" Nate interrupted her train of thought, once again snapping her back to reality.

"That's Irv Ravitz, her boss. He's the board chairman of Elias-Clarke. I told you about him a few times, remember?"

Nate paused in contemplation for a while before laughing suddenly, and Andy raised an eyebrow at him in confusion.

"I was just thinking..." He began, noticing the look that Andy was giving him, "It's funny that someone as high and mighty as her still has to take orders from someone else at the end of the day. Pretty ironic, huh?"

"Mmh... Yeah, I guess." Came Andy's half-hearted response.

She wasn't really listening to him at this point, truth be told. Her eyes were glued to Miranda again, and both her heart and her mind seemed to be preoccupied.

She truly was a sight to behold. She wore a red faux fur coat that hugged her figure perfectly, the fabric clinging in all the right places to accentuate her curves. Like most of her clothes, Andy figured she probably had it custom made by some designer, just for her. Andy could only imagine what some of Miranda's one of a kind outfits were worth.

Two fingers of her gloved hand were wrapped around the handle of her cup, its rim resting at her lips as she gazed at Irv intently.

As silly as it was, Andy felt almost jealous of the delicate piece of china, for being able to be so close to her mouth.

Miranda's other hand reached up, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes and tucking it behind her ear. Her hair looked soft, and Andy imagined that running her fingers through it would be like caressing pure silk.

Andy had often thought that if Miranda didn't have a reputation for being so cold and callous, she would have people falling all over her, both men and women. Not that many didn't admire her already.

They just did so from a distance, so as to not risk getting burned by the dragon's fire.

It was their loss, she thought.

And hers too, unfortunately.

She frowned as her brain chose to focus on the painful memory of Paris. How could she have been so stupid?

"_Ahem_..." Nate cleared his throat, and Andy snapped her head back to him. She hadn't realised she'd been staring at Miranda for so long. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"S-Sorry, Nate. I, uhh..."

His eyes narrowed, and the corners of his mouth turned down into a slight frown. It wasn't a glare, but she realised it was the same facial expression he had made when she'd told him about her affair with Christian.

Was he jealous? Had he somehow managed to read her mind?

The thought made Andy feel anxious, and guilt once again weighed heavy in her heart.

"Sorry..." She managed again, though the word barely made it out of her mouth.

Andy mentally kicked herself. Couldn't she at least manage to make up some fabricated story about why she was staring at the woman? Didn't saying sorry usually translate into 'I'm definitely guilty of something?'

She glanced back at Miranda, then. Irv was on the phone, staring out the window. Head tilted to the side, she looked back at Andy and Nate. One of her eyebrows was arched, and the corners of her lips turned downward.

God, she was so screwed.

She felt tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, and for a moment she was convinced that she'd gone insane. Maybe it was just the stress of the whole situation; the confusion of being both overjoyed and saddened to see Miranda, and the guilt she felt because of Nate all rolled up into one emotional package.

"Hey, come on. Andy...?" Nate shook her arm gently, bringing her attention back to him. She sniffed softly, and held his hand even tighter. Though there were no tears yet, they were threatening to spill at any moment. "Hey...Tell me what's wrong."

She shook her head, letting out a shaky sigh. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

She tried her best smile, though the brave front she tried to put up failed when she wiped at the corners of her eyes with her sleeve.

His look of concern then suddenly turned to anger as he cocked his head in the direction of Miranda.

"It's her, isn't it? She's making you upset. Did she do something I don't know about?"

Andy felt her eyes widen.

What?

"Was she abusive at work? I mean, more than usual? Did she say something to you that was outta line? Was there more to you leaving Runway than I know about...?" His concern was apparent, and she was grateful for it, though his accusations were misplaced.

"No... No, Nate. It's ok. I'm fine. Really." She tried her best to smile, though she knew it must have come across as forced.

They had known eachother too long to be blind to one another's emotions. He would still know that something was wrong, even if she told him a thousand times over that nothing was bothering her.

It was then that the waitress placed their food down on the table with a thud, causing Andy to jump slightly. Nate gave her another worried glance before giving the waitress his thanks and tipping her a few dollars. After she walked away, he picked up his knife and fork before glancing at Andy with an apologetic expression.

"Well, the food's here now. Whatever's wrong, we can talk about it later. Ok?"

Andy nodded, picking up her knife and fork in turn, and began to eat. She didn't talk much over the course of their meal, her eyes fixated on her plate like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. She had sworn to herself that she would not look over at Miranda again, because she knew that if she did her emotions would get the better of her. And she wasn't going to let that happen. Not in front of Nate.

She weakly nudged the food around on her plate, before being brought back to reality by the sound of his voice.

"You not hungry?"

"Huh...?" She raised her head to look at him, realising that she had been playing with her food more than she had been eating it. She conceded.

"No, not really."

Nate, meanwhile, had finished his meal and was staring at her. His eyes were piercing, and his gaze made Andy feel oddly uncomfortable.

She tried to avoid his eyes by looking away, and hers once again fell on Miranda. Damn it. She hadn't meant to look in her direction again.

Her heart fluttered, and Andy decided that she had now lost her appetite completely. Pushing her plate away, she stood weakly.

"Hey, I'm just going to the bathroom, ok?"

He folded his arms and nodded, leaning back in his chair. "Kay."

As she walked across the crowded cafe, she kept her head down. She really didn't want to make eye contact with Miranda again. She opened the restroom door and hurried inside, bumping into an older woman as she entered. She mumbled an apology without even making eye contact, before making her way into the first available cubicle.

The emotional outpour was almost immediate; as soon as the lock clicked, Andy started crying. She pulled the lid down and sat, burying her face into her cerulean blue sleeves to muffle the sobbing. She had to admit she felt somewhat pathetic for doing this, crying in a public toilet cubicle. But she knew that she had to let her emotions out somehow, and she was not prepared to lose it in front of both Nate and Miranda.

Her heart ached; Andy had never known that being in love could be quite this painful.

Sure, she had cried many tears over Nate after their breakup. But this was different. She knew it was. She felt like these tears came from somewhere else, somewhere deeper. It almost felt as if the pain was coming from not only her heart but her soul.

She snorted then, stifling a laugh despite the tears. If someone had told her when she started working at Runway, that she'd fall in love with Miranda Priestly, she would have laughed in their face.

But Paris was a definite wakeup call. She thought of what her mother always used to tell her, that you don't know what you've got until it's gone.

'God, I was such an idiot...' Andy thought, wiping at her eyes.

She heard the constant sound of doors opening and closing around her. She sniffed hard, her body still convulsing slightly from the sobbing. She wondered if anyone had heard her crying.

She glanced at her watch. She figured she'd been gone for about five minutes now. She had to get back soon. She didn't want Nate to worry about her.

She wiped at her eyes again and stood. Taking a long, unsteady breath to compose herself, she reached for the latch on the door. She stopped for a moment, though, when she remembered something else that her mother had said to her.

She had always said that if something is worth fighting for, then you fight.

But then, she also said that loving someone was letting go.

She huffed softly, chewing at her bottom lip.

'Damn it, mom. Why did you always give me such conflicting advice?' She thought.

She retracted her hand, then, and ruminated on the situation that she now found herself in.

She was in a relationship that was, at least from her perspective, lacking in the romance department. Andy knew deep down that she and Nate loved eachother, but she felt like they weren't _in _love.

Though she was still tied to him. Not only out of a sense of guilt, but one of familiarity. They were friends; they'd known eachother for years, and she knew that they shared many things in common. They could converse easily, and they laughed at a lot of the same jokes. In anyone's eyes, they would be viewed as the perfect couple.

Miranda, on the other hand, she had known for a far shorter period of time. A little over a year, to be exact. Andy knew that getting through the emotional walls would be a challenge. Andy was no fool; she knew that Miranda was a difficult woman, and that she would struggle to find things that they had in common.

They were opposites in every way, no doubt about it. But Miranda made Andy's heart beat faster than Nate ever could.

Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment, and for some reason, the image of a crying Miranda on the couch in Paris entered her mind. It absolutely broke her heart. She had gained the woman's trust enough that she could allow herself to be so vulnerable, and not 24 hours later she had walked away from her.

Andy knew she had to make things right, somehow. She had to make it up to Miranda, if such a betrayal was even capable of being forgiven. But she couldn't talk to her in this situation. Not with Irv and Nate hanging around.

It was then that an idea came to her; she knew Miranda's mobile number. Even after all these months of not working for her, she could close her eyes and see the numbers in her head from having to stare at the caller ID of her phone so many times while she worked at Runway.

What if she sent her a text message? She could keep it short, just two or three lines, asking Miranda to meet her somewhere, so she could apologise in person.

Andy had her doubts that Miranda would even respond, let alone entertain the idea. But still, she knew she had to try. She couldn't possibly live the rest of her life without knowing that she had at least made some sort of conscious effort.

And so, her mind was made up.

She took a few minutes to compose herself, washing her hands in the basin. She dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve again, attempting to dry the last few tears that lingered.

She emerged from the bathroom and back into the crowded cafe with renewed confidence.

But unfortunately for Andy, the feeling didn't last long.

She felt her newly found confidence shatter within a matter of seconds when she realised Nate was no longer seated at their table.

But that wasn't the problem. The problem was where he was _now_.

He was standing across the room, barely a metre away from Miranda, who was still seated at her table. He was talking to her, though she figured talking was probably the wrong word, judging by how pissed off he looked.

And Miranda looked absolutely _livid_.

Oh god.

Why was this happening?

Andy simply stood there, helpless, watching from across the crowded room.

Nate's arms were folded and Miranda was speaking in what Andy could tell was that quietly terrifying tone of voice she had heard so much during her time at Runway. She noticed that Irv had left, thank god. But the thought of Nate somehow being responsible for him leaving nagged at the back of her mind.

Andy couldn't quite make out what they were saying over the clashing and clanking of cutlery from the kitchens across from her. She watched as Miranda grabbed her purse, stood, and made for the door.

He turned to watch her walk away, calling out "Hey! I'm not done talking to you, yet!"

That part, she heard.

Nate hurried out the door, following Miranda.

"Nate! Wait up!" Andy called, and without another thought, she ran after the both of them.

Outside, an angry Miranda stood glaring at Nate in the middle of the crowded street. Andy felt the cool wind chill her face and she shivered, staring helplessly at the unfortunate scene before her.

"Keep your voice _down_." Miranda warned, her eyes flashing with anger.

"Fine." Nate gave in, folding his arms over his chest defensively. "But you still owe me an answer. At least have the decency to give me one."

"I don't owe_ you_ anything." Miranda replied, her voice dangerously low.

"Nate!" Andy ran up beside him, grabbing him by the arm "What in the world has gotton into you?!"

She looked at him desperately, then to her former boss. Their eyes locked, and Miranda inhaled sharply. Andy felt weak at the knees, and had to grip Nate's arm even tighter to stop herself from collapsing onto the pavement.

It might have been Andy's imagination, though she swore Miranda's gaze actually softened when their eyes met.

But now they were locked on Nate again, that beautiful blue becoming half hidden between narrowed lids.

Miranda was furious.

Andy mentally cursed her boyfriend. How could he embarrass her like this? And for what reason?

"Andrea." She shivered at the sound of her name, as the perfectly pronounced syllables rolled off Miranda's tongue. "Your... _Boyfriend_...Is under the misguided impression that I was directly responsible for you leaving Runway. As I recall, that was entirely _your _doing."

Andy felt her heart sink. She swallowed, hard.

She had been on the receiving end of Miranda's anger on more than one occasion. This would not end well for either her or Nate.

"Nate, come on. Let's just-"

"No way, Andy. I want an answer. Miranda, I know you're lying. Andy wouldn't be this upset if you hadn't done something to her." Nate replied, defiantly. Miranda's eyes flared. If looks could kill, both her and Nate would be dead by this point. He continued; "It's just a question, so answer it. Then I'll leave you alone."

Miranda's expression then turned to one of boredom. Andy knew this look well. It usually meant that whoever was pestering her was clearly not worth her time.

"Whatever is bothering Andrea, you would do well to discuss it with her, instead of throwing about these false accusations of yours."

"What do you mean false accusations?" Nate scoffed. Miranda then turned, as if to walk away. "H-Hey, wait!"

He reached out to place a hand on Miranda's shoulder, as if to give her reason to pause. The action wasn't at all forceful, but still Andy felt her own eyes flare with anger. He didn't have any right to invade Miranda's personal space like that.

"Nate!"

Miranda shifted slightly, stepping out of his reach and letting the hand fall off her shoulder.

"Do not. Touch me. Again." She reeled back around, the thin heel of her boot clicking sharply against the pavement. The look in her eyes made Nate recoil slightly, and Miranda perched a hand on her hip defiantly.

"I will repeat myself once more in a language that your small mind can hopefully understand; I will not entertain you one second further. I'm walking away from this nonsense."

With that, Miranda turned and stalked over to her waiting car.

Andy simply stood there, dumbstruck, latched onto Nate's arm.

She couldn't believe what had just transpired.

Andy watched helplessly as Miranda's car sped off, her voice cracking and barely above a whisper when she finally managed to speak. "Ohh, Nate..." She glanced up at him, her grip on his arm loosening. "Why...?"


	4. Chapter 4

**_Author's Note: _**_Hey guys :) I know I promised an update sooner, sorry about the wait. I've been really busy these past few days so I didn't make my writing deadline. I'll update this as soon as I can. The chapters will start getting longer as the story develops, too. Thank you all for the continued support and wonderful reviews! _

**Chapter Four**

"Andy!" Nate called as he attempted to dodge and weave his way through the crowded street.

"Andy, wait up!"

Andy continued on through the crowd as quickly as she could, her arms folded securely over her chest. She hurried along, allowing herself to be jostled by people walking in the opposite direction. Nate was struggling to catch up with her, she knew.

She had hoped that she could at least avoid talking to him until they got back to their apartment. He had made enough of a scene already and Andy certainly wasn't willing to partake in another argument in the middle of the street.

It was then that she felt a firm grip on her upper arm, halting her.

Well, so much for that idea.

Andy whirled around to face Nate, both disappointment and anger marring her usually gentle features.

"I just don't understand why you'd do that!" Andy began, her voice faltering. "I just don't... Ohh, Nate! This is so messed up!"

"What do you want me to say, Andy?" Nate asked her, guilt and frustration evident on his face. "I thought I was doing the right thing!"

"The right thi-" Andy gawked in disbelief. "Nate... How could you possibly think that was the right thing to do?!"

Andy's voice quivered. She was, once again, on the verge of tears.

"I _told _you Miranda played no part in me leaving Runway! I made that choice myself, Nate! Besides even if I _was_ lying, which I'm _not_, what gives you the right to accuse her of anything?!"

The volume of her voice had risen considerably, though she was trying to keep a lid on it. She could sense that passers-by were giving her odd looks.

Nate then went to reply but she cut him off before he could utter a single word. "No. You know what? I am not going to be part of another scene in the middle of the street. Let's just go back to our apartment and we can talk about it there. Okay?"

Nate remained silent for a few moments, before conceding. "Okay, fine."

The walk back to their apartment seemed like forever, both of them remaining silent. Andy shot a few sideways glances at Nate as they walked. He appeared to be in deep thought, his brow furrowed and the corners of his lips turned down into a solemn frown. She figured he was probably planning what he would say to her when they got back to their apartment.

When they finally arrived, Andy turned the key and pulled the door open, allowing Nate to enter before her. He moved to the centre of the room and turned, fixating his gaze on her. Andy then closed the door shut behind her and folded her arms, not making any attempt to move further into the room.

After a few moments of silence, Nate spoke first.

"Look, Andy... Like I said before, I thought I was doing the right thing! I don't know why you're so worked up about this!"

" Why wouldn't I be?!" Andy uncrossed her arms, taking a small step toward her boyfriend. "She didn't deserve that!"

"Oh, forgive me." He scoffed in disbelief. "And when did you two become best buddies, huh? I mean, how can you defend someone like her, Andy? I get it, you're a kind person... But there comes a time when it just has to stop!"

His tone of voice sounded more desperate than angry, and Andy fought back the lump in her throat. He continued;

"She treated you like crap! And you know what? What I saw today only confirmed the image I already had of her in my head! She's just as cold and uncaring as everyone says she is! You know, I went over there to confront her because you never could, Andy!"

"And just how is that _your _decision to make, Nate?" Andy bit back, barely keeping her shaking voice under control. "And how can you just stand there and judge Miranda after meeting her once? You don't know her, and you never will!"

Nate's mouth went slack. He was visibly shocked by what she had just said.

Oh yes, she was going there. She was going to defend Miranda _again_.

"You know what your problem is? You pretend to know how everything works, like you have the game sown up and you have all the answers!"

Nate went to cut her off, though she continued; "Miranda isn't cold and uncaring, far from it! It's just a front she puts up! She has emotional walls as high as the Empire State Building and you know why that is?" She pointed at him to emphasise her point, "because of people like you that constantly want to attack her and bring her down!"

Andy held her breath and waited for his response. She usually didn't raise her voice at him, but these past few months had pushed her far past her emotional breaking point.

"Oh, here we go again... I just don't see how you could be treated the way you were and still care about he-..."

His voice trailed off when he noticed a few tears slip down Andy's cheeks. She was absentmindedly tugging at the sleeve of her sweater, her gaze falling on the opposite side of the room. He took a few steps forward.

She closed her eyes and her bottom lip quivered, still not allowing herself to look at him.

"Andy...?"

She looked back at him then, an expression of guilt plastered across her delicate features, and a different kind of emotion sparkling through her dark eyes.

It was then that he understood, and in that moment he wondered how he hadn't noticed sooner.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me." He shook his head and turned to walk away, heading for their bedroom.

"Nate! I...Wait..." She trailed off.

Confused by his sudden change of mood, Andy followed him. She watched as he sat on the bed, his shoulders slumping. He had this strange, faraway look in his eyes. He almost looked... defeated?

Andy, at this point, had almost forgotten how to be angry with him. She had wondered if she'd gone too far with the accusations. After all, she knew that, in his mind, Nate had thought that he was doing the right thing.

She sighed, taking a few small steps toward the bed. She knew she should at least try to be grateful. His heart had been in the right place, after all.

"Nate? Look, I'm sorry that I-"

"You're in love with her, aren't you? The dragon lady?" A short pause. "Miranda, I mean."

Andy froze dead in her tracks, eyes widening like she was a deer caught in the headlights.

Her heart thumped hard against her ribcage and suddenly her mouth felt very dry.

"I..." Was all she could manage while she registered the shock of what he'd just said.

He looked up at her, then. Despite his sadness, he allowed a small smile to tug at the corners his lips. He absentmindedly scratched at the side of his neck.

"I guess I should've known. That's why you hate it whenever anyone says anything bad about her. You know, whenever you mention her name your face just lights up like she's the greatest thing in the world." He stood then, facing her. "When we were in the cafe today and you saw her... That look in your eyes, Andy... That's the way you used to look at me before we started dating. It's what made me notice you in the first place." He laughed, then. "You were always so obvious."

"Nate... I..."

"No, no. I know." He cut her off. "You're not happy with me, are you? I thought that after our breakup things would be easier. That maybe we could work something out. I guess I was wrong. "

"Nate, please... I..." Andy let the tears flow freely then, as she gripped his hand with both of hers. "You know I love you."

"But you love Miranda?"

Andy looked down, biting her bottom lip. Then her eyes locked with Nate's again, her voice cracking slightly as her mouth formed a response. She nodded.

"...Yes."

He frowned. "Then we can't be together. It wouldn't be fair on any of us. You, me, or... Miranda."

Andy let go of his hand then as he pulled it away.

She wiped at her eyes with her sleeve, desperately trying to keep her composure. "Nate... I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. Really, I didn't."

He nodded, eyes sparkling with emotion that he didn't allow the rest of his face to show.

"I know."

Nate had to resist saying what he really felt, though. He desperately wanted to say he didn't understand what she saw in her, and that all Miranda could possibly bring her was pain, if she were to even try.

But he knew that she was in pain, and he didn't want to make it worse. He figured this was something that Andy would have to learn for herself.

"Come here."

He pulled her into a tight hug, then, and Andy laid her head against his shoulder. He felt the moisture from her tears soaking through the material of his shirt. She said nothing, just sniffed quietly as she silently tried to will the tears away.

He let go after a few moments, making an attempt to leave the room. "I'm going for a walk. I gotta try and clear my head a little."

"Nate...?"

He paused in the doorway, turning his head to glance back at her. "Yeah?"

"We can still be friends... right? I couldn't watch you walk out of my life for good. I don't know what I'd do."

He turned to look at her fully, her dark brown eyes pleading. He felt a lump form in his own throat, then. "...Yeah. Of course we can."

With that, he turned and left. After a few moments of silence Andy felt the front door close and she sank down onto the bed. Her eyes stung from the tears, and her heart had become a heavy lump in her chest.

Despite not being happy with her relationship, a part of her wondered if she had done the right thing by confessing to Nate. She wondered; if she had just kept living a convenient lie, if she had just clung to their relationship, what would her life have been like in ten years time?

Maybe she would have accepted things as they were. Maybe she could have fallen in love with Nate again. Maybe they could have had two children and a dog and a house with a white picket fence.

Every young girl's dream.

Maybe, with time, it would have been possible for her to get over Miranda?

That last thought made her heart ache.

However, in some almost forgotten part of her brain, there was a small voice telling her that she could never get over Miranda, no matter how hard she tried.

And now, she found herself in a situation that would be very difficult to deal with.

Her relationship was over, and after what Nate did, Andy was probably the last person Miranda wanted to see.

But she still had to try and make this right.

Tears still streaming down her cheeks, she dove off the bed and ran to her handbag, which she had dumped on the table earlier. She rummaged through it, finding her phone and hastily hitting the number pad with her fingers in the pattern she had memorized so well.

When she was done, she looked over the message.

_Miranda, _

_I know you're probably angry, and I don't blame you. But I want to apologise for what happened today. _

_In person. _

_Please meet me tomorrow night in Madison Square Park, by the fountain. _

_I'll be there at 8:30pm. _

_-Andy_

Drying her eyes quickly, she hit the send button before she could think twice. She hoped, with all of her heart, that Miranda would agree to meet with her.

For now, she would wait for Nate to get back from his walk. They had a lot more to talk about.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Andy rubbed her eyes as she felt the sun's warmth beaming down on her through the half shaded bedroom window. She rolled onto her back, her arm reaching out to find an empty space next to her.

She frowned, bringing her arm back to rest at her side.

Nate had decided to sleep on the couch, of course. He had said that it was nothing personal, just that it would be more appropriate to do so now that they weren't a couple.

She would just have to get used to the empty space.

Andy groaned, sitting up. Her head was throbbing.

She had barely slept the previous night, for there had been far too much on her mind for her to even contemplate rest.

Slowly making her way into the kitchen, she found a hastily scribbled note left on the counter for her.

_Andy,_

_Have gone out for a few hours._

_Be back later._

_-Nate_

She idly ran her fingers over the clumsy block lettering and sighed. She was glad that she would still have Nate around for a while. It would definitely make the transition from lovers to friends easier.

Besides, she never was a fan of messy breakups.

They had spent hours talking after Nate came back. They sat down on the couch, and Andy had cuddled into him after noticing the red appearance of his eyes and the remains of tear streaks that still glistened on his cheeks.

They had talked about their living situation, among other things. Andy knew that Nate would never leave her with unpayable rent and bills; he just wasn't that kind of guy. He had mentioned that he would stay in the apartment for a couple of weeks in order to help pay up her rent, and then he would move in with one of his guy friends who had a spare room.

He said that after he moved out he would send her some money each week to help her stay on top of the rent. She had protested at first, but Nate said that this would be the best option for both of them. He couldn't keep living in the apartment with her, but he couldn't leave her in a bad situation either.

She would just have to look for a better paying job in the meantime, so that she could eventually afford the apartment on her own. It would be a pain, starting over again. But she didn't have any other options available to her.

Retracting her fingertips from the piece of paper, Andy allowed a small smile to tug at the corners of her mouth.

"Thanks, Nate..." She said softly.

She picked up her phone then, brown eyes scanning the screen. No new messages.

She knew that it wasn't in Miranda's nature to respond to a simple _"hi, how are you today?", _much less a text message. Still, some sort of reply would set her mind at ease.

'I wonder if she'll show up tonight...?' Andy thought, musing. She sighed, putting the phone back down. 'Well, no harm in trying is there?'

With a heavy sigh, she turned and headed for what was now _her_ bedroom, in order to get changed.

* * *

"Emily!"

Emily was clearly flustered; the pile of papers resting against her right palm nearly toppled over. Quickly clutching them to her chest, she re-balanced herself, rolling her eyes at the person on the other end of the phone line.

"Emily!" She heard Miranda call again, her tone far from patient.

Three strikes and she was out, she knew.

"Look, it was your bloody screw-up! You sent the scarves to the wrong address. I said the number was 51, not 15! God!" She gritted her teeth, lowering her voice in an attempt to sound more threatening. "Now you track them down before I come after you personally!"

She slammed the phone down, just about leaping over her desk and running into Miranda's office.

Miranda rolled her eyes at her first assistant's dishevelled appearance as she burst through the door, nearly dropping her pile of papers in the process. She pursed her lips as she usually did whenever she was displeased

Noticing the look she was being given, Emily tried to regain her composure. She brushed a few strands of runaway hair out of her vision and cleared her throat.

"I know you called. I'm sorry, Miranda. I was on the phone trying to find out what happened to your Burberry scarves that were due this morning for the shoot. When I told them the address I-"

Miranda gazed over the rim of her glasses, her tone of voice cool. "I am not interested in your... Explanations." She gave a disinterested toss of her head. "Where are they now?"

"Th.. They're at 15, West 28th street."

Miranda narrowed her eyes. "Then you will have Roy pick them up immediately. I would send you, but I need you here since I find myself without a second assistant."

Her mind flashed back to Andy for a second, though she did her best to push the thought away.

"That's all."

Emily nodded.

"Of course, Miranda."

Watching as her first assistant disappeared from view, Miranda leaned back in her chair and sighed, idly running her thumb over the standing collar of her black jacket. She reached for the mobile phone that was sitting on her desk, blue eyes scanning over the message once again.

_Miranda, _

_I know you're probably angry, and I don't blame you. But I want to apologise for what happened today. _

_In person. _

_Please meet me tomorrow night in Madison Square Park, by the fountain. _

_I'll be there at 8:30pm. _

_-Andy_

To her dismay, she felt her heart flutter. She had read the message ten times, at least, and still the same reaction.

It annoyed her.

Miranda's eyes narrowed as she pulled open the drawer next to her. Tossing the phone in, she slammed it shut and attempted to get back to flicking through the magazine mock-up in front of her. She would try to bury herself in her work, as she usually did when something was bothering her.

But then, she remembered the boy.

Nate, as he had called himself.

Miranda was used to her reputation preceding her, to say the least. No one who knew who she was would ever dare oppose her, let alone question her.

Any who did so were either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid.

Perhaps he was both, Miranda decided.

Still, what he had done was embarrass her. It was a totally unforgiveable sin in her eyes and he was lucky that he would probably never have the misfortune of meeting her ever again.

She remembered the odd glances people had given them as they walked by. She also remembered her own anger which she was only able to keep under control because of whom else was there, standing beside him.

Miranda frowned, bringing her pen up to her lips, tapping at the corner of her mouth in thought.

She remembered only one other time she had been part of a public spectacle like that. She was late to a dinner she had arranged for her and Stephen at one of his favourite restaurants. She had left him there, waiting for her, for over forty five minutes. The night had ended with him abusing her in the middle of the street.

He was drunk.

She remembered pleading with him to calm down as people watched the scene curiously.

An image flashed in her own mind then of Andrea clinging to Nate's arm, trying to get him to walk away.

The only thing that had calmed Stephen down, in her experience, was a bout of loveless sex during which she would lay there quietly and shut her eyes.

Miranda stood with a frustrated sigh and walked to the other side of her office, staring out the window at the crowded streets below her. She wasn't watching anything in particular; she was simply looking for a distraction.

Nothing caught her eye, and once again her mind wandered.

She was supposed to hate her. Miranda would have given Andrea the world on a silver platter, should she have requested it.

Instead, she had abandoned her. Just like all the others.

She had thrown it all away.

She sighed, choosing to ignore the dull ache in her heart. She was just being irrational. She refused to believe that Andrea could affect her like this.

Sitting back down at her desk she once again opened the drawer and glared at her phone. This wasn't like her. She wanted nothing more than to tell Andrea to leave her alone, to stay out of her life, and yet... Oddly enough, she couldn't. It would have been easy to do, had it been anyone else.

"Excuse me, Miranda?"

She was roused from her thoughts by Emily, who was now standing in the doorway of her office. She sighed in frustration.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Roy is on his way to get the scarves as we speak, but there's a problem in the beauty department."

Miranda rolled her eyes, slamming the drawer shut.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Andy bit her lower lip nervously as she stared out the window in the back seat of the cab, watching as the neon signs and street lights danced past her in their own unique rhythm. She absentmindedly tugged at the sleeve of her brown suede jacket, trying to plan ahead what she would say to Miranda.

Unfortunately, she was drawing a blank.

The problem was that she had so much to say, though most of it wouldn't be appropriate for this occasion.

Actually, it probably wasn't appropriate for any occasion, really.

Suddenly, cab driver's gruff voice stirred her from her thoughts.

"You look awful nervous."

Andy looked up. "I do?"

"Yeah. You out on a date tonight, missy?" He asked.

They were pulled up at a red light, and she met his eyes in the rear vision mirror.

She smiled, letting out a small laugh. "Something like that."

She wasn't lying, per se, but she didn't feel like explaining the whole situation to a cab driver. She felt herself blush at the thought of her going on a date with Miranda Priestly.

Like that would ever happen.

She felt herself frown then, and he gazed back at her knowingly.

"It's complicated, huh?"

She nodded, "Yeah. Very."

"Ahh, relationships. They were never meant to be easy. Y'know, my wife and I, we met twenty years ago. It's our anniversary next month."

Andy beamed at him with her usual enthusiasm. "Really? That's great! Congratulations!"

"Thanks." He smiled back at her, returning his eyes to the road as the cab once again rolled forward. "It wasn't easy though. Getting her, I mean. Boy, was she a challenge. I chased her for five years. She thought I was this typical cocky young guy, y'know? I think she thought I was too flighty, that I'd up an' leave her."

Andy leaned forward, listening intently.

"Anyway, one day I told her how I felt. But you gotta do it when the time is right. I waited all those years, didn't see anyone else. Until I saw my golden opportunity. She was worth the wait, an' I've never looked back."

"So you waited until you knew she was sure?"

"Exactly." They were pulling up at another red light, then. "Well, you seem like a sweet girl. Whoever he is, he can consider himself a lucky guy."

After a short pause, Andy giggled softly. "...She."

She caught his eyes in the rear vision mirror again, and he laughed. "Sorry, miss. She, then. She's a lucky woman."

Andy smiled, though she felt an uncomfortable ache in her heart. "It's ok. And thank you."

Miranda was far from hers, and Andy knew that she probably didn't have a hope in hell of winning Miranda's heart. Somewhere in the back of her mind, though, there may have been some of that characteristic Andy-optimism praying that she'd be given the chance.

For now, she would just be happy to have Miranda back in her life, romantic feelings aside.

"Well, here we are." The cab driver's voice once again brought her out of her thoughts.

"Oh!" Andy reached into her handbag for her wallet. "How much do I owe you?"

"Ten fifty." The cab driver watched as she fished around in her wallet. "Ahh, you know what? Just give me five. That'll do."

"What? Oh, are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course." He held out his hand to her as she handed him her money. "Good luck tonight."

Andy just wanted to hug him. She appreciated that a perfect stranger would be so kind to her.

"Thank you so much!" She beamed, reaching for the door handle. She paused, with one leg out of the cab, and looked back at him. "Oh, before I go... What was your wife's name?"

"Helen." He smiled.

"Well, tell Helen that I said she's a lucky woman. Have a good night!"

He laughed. "Thanks, you too!"

She stood on the roadside, watching as the cab drove off. A cool wind made her shiver, and she wrapped her arms around herself. It was a particularly cold night, she suddenly wished she'd worn something warmer.

She made her way to her designated meeting place and stood, watching the fountain for a little while. It looked particularly beautiful, all lit up. She remembered that Nate used to love walking through here at night.

She glanced around, watching as people went by. It was always a busy park, no matter the time of day. Sitting down on the bench, she watched as a couple walked by, arm in arm.

The man was tall and handsome, with dark hair. He wore a tailored suit and had a dignified look about him. A much younger blonde clutched his arm, looking into his eyes as they talked.

They stopped by the fountain and kissed. Andy allowed herself to smile at the scene before her. She couldn't help wish that that was her and Miranda, though she tried her best to push the thought out of her mind and continue planning what she was going to say.

After a while she checked the time. Nine o'clock. She shivered, glancing around. She herself had arrived dead on eight thirty.

She unintentionally started to worry. Miranda was always early for everything. Had she been and gone, already?

'Come on Andy, calm down. You said eight thirty. She isn't usually done with the book til nine, anyway.'

Yeah, that as probably what she was doing. Andy knew Miranda would never reject work for anything.

So she waited.

Nine thirty came, and Andy checked her phone. No messages. She was visibly agitated, tapping her foot. She shivered, buttoning her jacket to the top and hugging herself tightly. Maybe she wasn't coming after all?

At a quarter past ten, Andy felt more disheartened than she had in her entire life. She took out her phone, and began her message.

_Miranda,_

_It's Andy again. _

_I'm still here in the park waiting for you. _

_And it's damn cold._

_So come and meet me before I freeze to death._

There.

She tucked her phone away in her pocket, folding her arms in defiance. Formality be damned. She hoped that the message made Miranda feel guilty enough to come out of her nice warm townhouse.

She would stay there all night if she had to, she was too damn stubborn not to.

"Really, you won't freeze to death. Don't be so dramatic."

Andy jumped to her feet at the sound of that familiar, levelled tone. She whirled around, her expressive eyes meeting those familiar blue ones.

"Miranda!"


	6. Chapter 6

**_Author's Note: _**_Hello devoted followers :) So sorry for the wait once again. I did plan to update this sooner but I've been quite ill and basically bedridden the past week lol. I'm well again now, so hopefully this will be updated more frequently from now on. Thanks for all the reviews, I just love reading them and knowing that you're all enjoying this so much :) Hope you all enjoy chapter six ~_

**Chapter Six**

There was Miranda, standing before Andy in all her beauty, the dim glow of the lights illuminating her fair skin. The way the light was cast down on her made her look almost angelic.

Andy's breath hitched in her throat at the sight. She had to remind herself to breathe.

Miranda had her hands buried in the pockets of her black designer trench coat. Of course she wouldn't complain about the cold while under that thing, Andy thought.

She noticed the Chanel boots and the diamond earrings, and a silver and pearl necklace that clung to the slope of her neck. Judging by Miranda's less than casual attire, Andy figured that she had just come from work.

Andy swallowed hard. Now that the object of her affection was here, standing not ten metres away, words eluded her.

"Well?"

Miranda's voice brought her back to reality.

Here goes nothing.

"Ah... I... " She hesitated momentarily, "It's good to see you, Miranda. Thanks for coming to meet with me. Sorry if my second message seemed a little pushy. It's cold out tonight, isn't it?"

Miranda simply arched an eyebrow in response.

Andy shivered, though more from the intensity of Miranda's gaze than due to the cold that was biting through her thin jacket

"But I guess you wouldn't notice under that coat of yours, huh?"

Andy laughed nervously. She was rambling. For that, she mentally kicked herself.

She knew how much Miranda hated it when people rambled.

'Crucial facts only, Andy. Come on.' She mentally tried to calm herself.

Taking a deep breath, she started again.

"Look, Miranda... I'm sorry about Nate." Andy took a small step toward the other woman, who eyed her warily.

"What he did to you in the cafe... He shouldn't have done that. I just... I wasn't expecting him to make such a scene, you know? He, well... He isn't usually like that."

Miranda's eyes narrowed.

"So you drag me out here to apologise on your boyfriend's behalf. And offer pointless excuses for his behaviour, to boot." She shook her head, lips turning even further down into a frown.

"How very... Disappointing."

Disappointing?

"Well, yeah..." Andy wrapped her arms around herself, buckling under the intensity of the eyes that she felt were piercing through her.

"That's ex boyfriend now. Nate and I broke up yesterday."

Andy thought she noticed Miranda's eyes soften, if only for a second, though her face remained characteristically expressionless.

"...Oh." She sniffed, turning her head to gaze at the fountain across from them.

"And what will become of your living arrangements with the boy?"

Her tone of voice was flat and forced, even for her. Andy thought that there may have been an underlying tone of sadness in Miranda's voice. Perhaps even regret?

"Well... We've decided to keep living under the same roof for a few weeks. To help me with rent, you know? After that he'll move in with one of his guy friends."

She drew in a shaky breath, and sighed.

"Anyway, there hasn't really been a lot of work for me in my new job. I'm not earning enough to be able to afford rent on my own, so Nate is gonna send me some cheques after he moves out to help me afford the apartment. Until I find a new job, that is."

Miranda scoffed and replied in a somewhat more bitter tone than she originally intended.

"How generous."

Andy chose to ignore it, and continued.

"Um... Thank you, by the way. For the job reference, I mean."

Miranda suddenly brought her gaze back to Andy, eyes sweeping over her form like she used to whenever she evaluated her outfits at Runway. It had become almost a personal game to Andy, over time. Whenever Miranda had smiled or given her an approving nod because of her attire, Andy would feel like she had won another small victory.

She had liked the attention of those eyes.

Andy glanced down at her own casual attire then, from her suede jacket to her jeans and worn out old boots.

She was waiting to hear some quip about her having no style, or sense of fashion. Those were the accusations that had been thrown at her, after all, when she was first interviewed for the job at Runway.

The question that came from Miranda's mouth, though, was rather sudden.

"Why did you leave, Andrea?"

Andy faltered, her lower jaw suddenly feeling slack.

"What?"

Miranda sighed. "Last I checked you were not clinically deaf. I won't repeat myself, Andrea. You owe me an explanation."

And so she waited, surprisingly patiently, while Andy tried to find the words.

"I... I didn't agree with what you did to Nigel. And I was..." Andy swallowed. Damn, she knew she was going to look stupid for saying this. She dared to meet Miranda's eyes, however, as she uttered the dreaded word.

"...Afraid."

There.

There it was; the crux of the matter. She had realised long ago that fear had been her motivation for leaving Runway.

Not ego, or pride, or resentment, but fear. Fear had made her walk away.

Miranda's eyes narrowed.

"Afraid?" She asked, incredulously.

"Afraid that... Well..." She sighed, looking away, eyes focusing on the streaming water of the fountain. She watched as the water splayed and made patterns in the light, as she continued;

"I was afraid that you'd end up doing the same to me, in the end... That you'd betray me in some way, like you did to Nigel."

And there it was. How stupid she had been, indeed. After several moments of uncomfortable silence, Miranda spoke.

"You're a fool."

Her tone was cool and levelled, as usual, though she didn't sound angry. Her voice was laced with disappointment, if anything.

Andy allowed herself to laugh softly, her eyes meeting Miranda's again.

"I know. You don't have to tell me that."

"I should not have to explain myself, Andrea. It was that or my career... A career that I have built for over twenty years of my life. While you were busy playing with dolls and running around playgrounds, I was editing magazines. You're far too young to face losing something that took so long to build from the ground up."

Andy suddenly felt very foolish.

"Miranda, I-"

She held her hand up in a 'be quiet' kind of motion and Andy immediately fell silent, as she had been taught to do during her time at Runway.

"What would you have done in my position, Andrea? Honestly..." She sighed, clearly exasperated, though her voice remained level.

"And how can you assume that Nigel would not have done the same, had he been in my position?"

Andy tried to come up with a proper response, though she couldn't. She felt she knew, now, why Miranda could allow herself to be so ruthless in the workplace. She had no belief in loyalty. She believed that, given half the chance, anyone in her world would turn on her for their own personal gain.

Andy felt her heart ache for the woman. She now understood how lonely Miranda must feel, if she held the belief that everyone around her was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

She thought of the broken woman that had been Miranda, as she watched her crying on the couch in Paris.

She now knew that she had only reinforced Miranda's view of others, by walking away.

And she hated herself for it.

She found herself wishing that she had understood all this sooner.

"I..." Andy began, taking another step toward the older woman. "I'm sorry that I walked away, in Paris. I was wrong."

Miranda tucked a strand of silver hair behind her ear, sighing and absently watching some passerby.

"You were." She agreed.

"So..." Andy tried, "Can you forgive me?"

Miranda scowled, still not meeting her gaze.

"Forgiveness doesn't come easily to me." She paused, in thought. "But for you, I may make an exception. Just this once."

It was only when Andy giggled that she brought her gaze back to the younger woman.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just..." She shook her head, smiling broadly. "You haven't changed one bit since Runway."

Miranda's expression softened a little, and she allowed herself to smirk. Andy's heart fluttered at the sight.

"And this surprises you?"

Andy laughed. "No, not really."

A sudden cold wind caused Andy to shiver. Her teeth started to chatter uncontrollably, and Miranda frowned at her.

"One would think that during your time at Runway you would have learned to dress appropriately for the weather, at least."

Andy laughed, hugging herself in some vain attempt to conserve body heat.

"You know I was never that good with fashion. Even when I started dressing better for Runway I had to get up three hours early just to pick out a damn outfit."

"Indeed?"

Andy shivered again, and Miranda rolled her eyes.

"How are you getting home?" She demanded.

"C-Cab..." Her teeth started chattering again.

Miranda sighed. "I'll drive you."

Before Andy could protest, Miranda turned on heel and began to walk away. When she didn't follow immediately, Miranda halted and turned her head to glance back at her.

"Well? Are you coming with me, or are you just going to stand there all night?"

"Oh! R-Right!"

Andy bounded along after her as Miranda started to walk away again. The sudden realisation that she was going to be alone in a car with her made her blush.

Andy hoped that she wouldn't do or say anything stupid.

"Are you sure?"

Miranda simply raised an eyebrow at her.

"Right." Andy laughed nervously. "Doing as I'm told."

"That's better."

The walk back to Miranda's car was spent in silence. Andy knew that her former boss was never good with small talk anyway, so she wouldn't bother to make any vain attempts. She decided that she was just happy to be with her.

They passed many couples as they walked along. Some hand in hand, others talking or kissing. Andy figured it was a popular park for dates. She shot a sideways glance at Miranda with longing eyes, suddenly wishing she was tucked under the arm of her black trench coat.

She smiled, shaking her head. Miranda didn't notice; she instead appeared to be deep in thought about something.

'Yeah right, Sachs. Dream on.' She thought.

Once inside the car, Andy welcomed the fact that Miranda had turned on the heater for her. She warmed her hands in front of the air vents as she absently gave Miranda simple directions to her apartment.

They sat in silence, for a while, when they were pulled up at a red light. Then Miranda spoke;

"Andrea?"

Andy glanced over at her. "Yeah?"

"You said before that you will be looking for a new job."

"Mm. That's right." Andy nodded. "So I can afford the apartment. Why?"

The car rolled forward, and Miranda shot a glance in her side mirror.

"I will not be giving you a reference."

Andy's jaw went slack. Was this her revenge for Paris?

"What? But Miranda, I-"

Miranda held up her pointer finger to her then and moved it side to side, not taking her eyes off the road.

"No, no. It's not what you're thinking." She said, simply.

Andy waited for Miranda to continue, hoping that she would like whatever it was that Miranda was about to say.

"I will, instead, offer you your old job back. I have no second assistant, and Emily is finding it impossible to find someone who matches your work ethic." She paused for a moment.

"Should you accept, we will go over your former contract and come to a mutual agreement on your wages so that what I pay you would match your rent requirements."

Andy's eyes widened and she felt her heart skip a beat.

"Really? You'd do that? I mean... gosh, Miranda..." Andy rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes.

"I'd have to think about it. I mean, it's so sudden. Would that be ok with you?"

Miranda nodded.

"Take all the time you need. Am I going left here, or right?"

Andy felt herself smile.

"Left."

Five more minutes, and she was home. She thanked Miranda for the ride home and closed the car door. As she watched the black B.M.W drive off, she shivered, the warmth from the car now being quickly enveloped by the cold night air.

"What a night..." She smiled and shook her head in disbelief, before turning and heading up the stairs to her apartment.

She had some serious thinking to do.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** Oh my God, everyone. I know. It's been three months since my last update, but I'm back, and so is this story! :D I hope you're all still willing to follow it and I am so, so sorry it's taken me this long. I hope you enjoy chapter seven, chapter eight will be uploaded soon, and I promise you'll never have to wait three months again! :) xo

**Chapter Seven:**

"Thanks, Roy!" Andy grinned as the car pulled up to the curb. "Bye, and…" She paused, before sheepishly adding "Wish me luck, I'll probably need it."

He nodded, glancing at her in the rear vision mirror.

"Good luck." He smiled. "No goodbyes for a while, Andy. I'm sure I'll see you in an hour or two when you have to run Errands for Miranda from here all the way to Timbuktu."

Andy couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Yeah, that is the most likely scenario for Andy's first day back at Runway, isn't it?" She said, opening the car door.

"Good- uhm… See you later."

Roy chuckled. "See you soon."

Andy stepped out of the car, swallowing hard against the lump that had formed in her throat. She was fine in the car on the way over, sure. She felt almost excited at the prospect of returning. But now the reality of the situation had sunk in, and the butterflies in her stomach were fluttering a little too close to her ribcage. It made her feel nauseous.

She gazed up at the looming building in front of her. Her knees felt weak and she found the height of the building itself dizzying as she looked up. She wondered to herself if this is how Belle felt in Beauty and the Beast as she stared up at the Beast's haunting, jagged castle. She imagined the character feeling both terrified as well as excited, exactly as Andy herself was feeling now.

She imagined the Beast gazing down at the girl with steely eyes, arrogant, proud, untouchable and closed off to the world in his castle that was just as much a prison as a safe haven.

She imagined Miranda looking down at her now, probably with much the same look in her eyes.

And the Runway building was her castle.

She suddenly felt as if she were trespassing. She wondered what her role in this particular rendition would be. Was she to be the beauty?

An ache gnawed at her heart. "Unlikely…" She muttered to herself.

Andy sighed.

'Great. Now I'm referencing Disney movies.' She thought.

She shook her head, and, mustering up her dutch courage, she took a small, trembling step. And another. And a few more. See? This wasn't so hard. It took Andy a while but she had rediscovered her once confident stride as she made her way to the top of the concrete steps at the base of the Runway building.

She could find the confidence to go back to her old job, she thought to herself. She could-

Suddenly she felt something heavy tumble into her side, and what felt like a leather briefcase knock at the back of her knees, causing her to lose her balance.

"Oh!"

A strong hand gripped Andy's forearm and steadied her, preventing her from hitting the ground, though her handbag dropped and hit the pavement with a thud, its clasp breaking and its contents – lipstick, money, notepad and the like – were strewn over the pavement.

"Sorry about that! Are you alright?"

She felt a strong arm pulling her back to her feet as the man bent down to quickly gather her things back into the bag.

She absentmindedly scratched at her shoulder, staring at the back of the man's head, his wavy brown hair bobbing in front of her.

"Wh… huh?" She muttered, dumbly.

The man stood and turned to face her, handing her the bag, its contents now where they were supposed to be. He laughed, shaking his head.

"I asked if you were alright." The corner of his lips twisted into a smirk. "The name's David, by the way. David Connolly. And you are…?"

Andy took the time to look him over. He had mid-length wavy brown hair, tan skin and dark brown eyes. He was obviously quite fashion conscious, judging from his designer leather trench-coat and boots that made her think she couldn't even afford one of them on a whole month's salary.

"I'm Andy. Andy Sachs." She held out her hand, and he quirked an eyebrow and frowned, before shaking it gently.

His hands were rough, rougher than Nate's, despite his clean-cut appearance.

"Andy? That's not a very becoming name for a woman. Did your dad name you that? Because it's usually the mother who thinks up all the pretty names."

Andy gave a disbelieving laugh. "Oh. Cute. I take it that's your idea of a great pick up line?"

"Yes. Did it work?"

Andy shook her head, "No it didn't. Sorry."

"Oh, you wound me." David remarked, placing his hand over his heart in mock pain. He continued, in a sarcastic tone of voice that no one on God's green earth could ever take seriously. "I'll just have to overlook that you wounded my manly pride and assume that Miranda is a good judge of character, after all."

Andy narrowed her eyes. This man was reminding her a lot of Christian. It bothered her.

Wait… Did he just say Miranda?

"You… Know Miranda?"

Andy knew she wasn't going to like where this conversation would end up. This guy was already getting on her nerves. If she found out that she'd have to work with him, she'd-

"Miranda's my boss."

… Fuck.

"… Oh." Was all she could manage.

"Well, I should correct myself there, I suppose. Technically Irv's my boss." He picked up his briefcase that he had dropped earlier while helping her up. He motioned for Andy to follow, and she complied.

"I'm one of the lead fashion designers for the next three issues. I work alongside Nigel. You know him, I take it?"

Andy nodded. David pressed the button, and as they waited for an elevator he continued; "He's a good guy. Bit of a fairy, though."

Andy glared at him, then. He didn't take any notice of her though, he was too busy repeatedly pressing the elevator button, like it was some sort of criminal offense to wait more than ten seconds for an elevator.

"Anyway, we have to run everything through Jaqueline before it reaches Miranda. If she thinks anything we've done will piss Miranda off too much, it gets canned before it even reaches her desk."

Andy scoffed, scrunching her brow in disbelief. "But… Miranda is Editor In Chief. Isn't that her job, you know… To edit?

He laughed as they entered the elevator. They stood side by side and as the doors closed, Andy glanced at him. "What's so funny?"

"Seriously?" David raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Andrea. Nigel's told me all about you, and your working relationship with Miranda. You were her assistant for over six months, surely to God you know what that woman's temper can be like? Jaqueline's just trying to shelter us from the shit storm, so to speak. It prevents drama. You can understand that, right?"

Andy glared at him as he watched the floor numbers counting up. He just called her Andrea. No one calls her Andrea expect Miranda. Even her parents call her Andy. He didn't even get the syllables right, God damn it.

It would have sounded stupid to anyone else, but she felt the name "Andrea" was something that tied her to Miranda, the way in which Miranda said her name was so… Special to her. She would pronounce each syllable separately almost like a purr. Even when Andy was obviously in trouble because she'd done something that Miranda deemed stupid, a small part of her still loved hearing Miranda call her name.

_'An-dre-ah…'_

She shivered. She wasn't going to let this… _Man_ bastardise something that was so special to her.

She shook her head and pouted her bottom lip slightly.

"It's Andy, if you don't mind. Make as many jokes about it as you like, that's what I'm called."

He looked at her, obviously confused. "Well… _Pardon et moi._ I didn't mean to offend, Andy. It's just sounds… Prettier, like you."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, please…"

He smirked at her.

"Wait…" She said, "You're serious, aren't you? God, don't tell me women actually fall for those lame one liners?"

The elevator chimed to notify them that they had indeed reached their floor. David held out his arm, allowing Andy to exit before him.

"Well, you have a fun little reunion." David remarked.

Andy turned back to face him. "You're not coming?" Andy couldn't help but retort in a sarcastic voice, "Aww, and I was just starting to like you and your terrible pick-up lines. Damn."

David laughed before giving her a wink. "Don't worry. I'm just ducking downstairs to get some designs for Miranda. I'll be back before you know it, baby."

Andy opened her mouth to shoot back a snarky remark, but she found herself staring at a closed elevator door.

Baby? Really?

She thought back to her one nighter with Christian in Paris and huffed, folding her arms across her chest. Damn it, this David guy was really hitting close to home with a lot of his comments.

'I am definitely _not _your baby.' She thought, before turning on heel and heading down that familiar hallway. With each step she took, the butterflies in her stomach distracted her from her annoyance toward David.

The walk to her old desk seemed like forever. She saw a lot of familiar faces who greeted her along the way, some with polite hello's and how-are-you's and others with claps and cheers. She blushed slightly at all the attention she was suddenly getting.

And before she knew it she was only one door away from her old office.

Just one more hallway, and then…

Her desk was no sooner in sight when suddenly she felt thin, albeit strong arms fling themselves around her neck and shoulders. She stumbled back, bursting into laughter at the redhead's almost inaudible hysterics which were being mumbled into her shoulder.

She patted the other woman on the back affectionately.

"Hey, Em. I missed you too."

Wide blue eyes suddenly locked on her own as Emily continued her rambling.

"Missed me? Missed _me?!_" I'm the one who's missed _you_!" Why the bloody hell did you leave, you irresponsible twit?!"

"A-Ah…" Andy's mouth went slack before she shrugged and gave Emily puppy dog eyes. "I'm sorry?"

Emily paused for a moment, pouting and shaking her head. She threw her arms up in the air and strode around her desk.

"Oh, whatever. You're forgiven, just… Don't give me that look. I hate it when you do that, you look like a small child who's puppy I just kicked or something. Makes me feel terribly guilty."

"Aww, Em. I really have missed you, though." Andy walked over to her desk, all the familiarity of her former role flooding back to her. She glanced through the open door of Miranda's office, catching a peek of her boss flicking through what she knew was "The Book". Her heart fluttered and she quickly glanced away. She knew she could not walk in there unless she was wanted, so she would wait until she was called.

The anticipation, however, felt like it was killing her.

"S-So… How have things been here?" Andy put her bag down beside her as she sat down, and promptly began rearranging her desk for the sake of something to do.

Emily looked up from the notepad she was writing on. She lowered her voice as she replied. "Shite. She's fired three bloody assistants, which is a good thing I suppose, since you're back. But still I have been doing the work of _two _people. And we have this new fashion designer, David… Total prat. Have you met him?

Andy opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by the sound of her boss's familiar call.

"An-dre-ah!"

Andy froze, looking slightly like a deer caught in the headlights of a truck. Her tummy felt like it was doing backflips.

"An-dre-ah!"

Crap!

Emily rolled her eyes. "For Christ's sake, Andy, you know the drill. Get. In. There!"

Andy stood quickly, and accidentally banged her knee against the corner of the desk. "Oww, crap!" She hissed, causing Emily to roll her eyes.

Ignoring the pain, Andy rushed into Miranda's office, trying to get in there before the third name-calling.

And there Miranda was, perched at her desk, red blouse unbuttoned slightly to show off the slope of her neck, dipping down to reveal a modest amount of cleavage. Her silky white hair was flicked up into its trademark forelock, silver reading glasses perched on the delicate bridge of her nose.

Andy's breath hitched. She looked divine.

She had missed this woman so much over the previous months, she could just cry. Andy let a soft smile tug at the corners of her lips as she fought back the tears of pure happiness.

'I'm never leaving you again, Miranda.' She thought to herself.

It was then Andy noticed that Miranda was staring at her, one eyebrow quirked in annoyance.

Andy cleared her throat. "Uhm… Good morning, Miranda. What can I do for you?"

"Well, now that you've finally brought yourself back to reality…" Miranda regarded her, then continued flicking through The Book. "Call Irv and tell him we'll have to move our meeting forward an hour today. Tell Nigel that I need less animal print for the shoot, I'm not doing a spread on the local zoo for God's sake. Call Sandra Galeo and tell her the answer is no, she'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Oh, and go and pick up the designs from David downstairs. He's taking far too long and I need to see them by midday today for the shoot. Tell him that his inability to meet a deadline irritates me greatly and that if he wants to work for a magazine that runs on deadlines, then this is one aspect of his so-called work ethic that he needs to work on."

Andy smiled. She'd enjoy that last one.

Miranda flicked to the next page of The Book, not even bothering to look up.

"That's all."

"Of course, Miranda."

Andy stopped in the doorway on her way out of the office, resting her hand on the doorframe and daring to glance back at Miranda, who was far too engrossed in her work to notice. A smile formed across Andy's lips.

'I love you.' She thought to herself, before walking out the door.


End file.
